I Love Riding in the City

NAME: Tommy T

LOCATION: Oakland, CA

OCCUPATION: Retired

Where do you live and what’s it like riding in your city?

Greetings from Oakland, California. It’s a resilient place. Despite the 1991 Oakland firestorm and various urban problems, our hyper-participative neighborhood groups and deep attention to the issues continue to resist second-city status to San Francisco. Oakland is happening, especially with the arts but also food. Why ride here? In a short outing I can sample great grub that tantalizes my palate: BBQ, Korean, pad thai, pho, tamales, tapas. It’s so easy. The arts scene every first Friday is also worthy and very bike-friendly.

What is your favorite city to ride in?

Every city. Seriously. I’m like your readers, I’ve traveled around a bit. I’m trying to think of a place where I couldn’t rent or borrow a bike. Little American towns, big Western cities, villages in developing countries. They all have bikes available. Every place reveals its nature to the cyclist.